FUE | Follicular Unit Excision

FUE Hair Transplant Procedure

Dr. Williams performs the Follicular Unit Excision (extraction) or FUE hair restoration procedures on patients that prefer this method and are a good candidate. Dr. Williams will examine the donor area and discuss this in the consultation.

Advantages of the Follicular Unit Excision Procedure

No Linear Scar

Better used in small to medium procedures in hairline/top

Better used for tight/scarred donor area

Additional procedures often needed

Potentially less discomfort after procedure

Follicular Unit Excision Scarring

The FUE hair transplants are done with a punch which is a circular skin biopsy blade with an open center. The majority of practices do not have trained surgeons doing these procedures which can result in wide scars and unacceptable results. Advertising campaigns have tried to convince people that this procedure does not leave any scarring. This is absolutely untrue! In some cases this method damages the donor area permanently.

Disadvantages of the Follicular Unit Excision Procedure

Exponentially more total scar & can be visible through short hair

More expensive and time consuming

Punch is passed blindly through scalp sometimes damaging follicles

Fewer future procedures are possible

Patients preferring long hair will require regrowth (1/4-1/2″/mo) as the head needs to be shaved

More damaged follicles

Potential for taking follicles too close to future thinning zone

“Mottled” appearance in the donor area if over harvested, FUE is not scar-less

Despite misleading marketing tactics from other FUE providers, there is much more scar produced with FUE than FUT or follicular unit transfer (strip technique.) Our patients rarely have an issue with scarring with either procedure. If a scar should occur, there are several options to address it free of charge.

Follicular Unit Excision Cost

The cost of the Follicular Unit Excision or FUE varies by case and number of grafts needed.

This procedure tends to be more expensive than FUT and takes a few hours longer to complete